As is the form for Olympic events. If the gold medal winner is stripped of the title then the silver medal winner steps up. The problem they face in cycling is that doping is so endemic that they are struggling to find another rider to take the title.

In fact, yesterday the cycling union contacted me to inform me that I was now the winner of the 2005 TdF as I had once hired a bike during a vacation in Paris.

"Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling and he deserves to be forgotten in cycling," [UCI president] McQuaid said at a news conference. "This is a landmark day for cycling."

"a landmark day for cycling"...................The open admission that almost a decade worth of cycling was completely bogus. Am I the only one that thinks this is about the worst thing that could happen for the sport. The UCI's opinion is that Lance should be forgotten, I think the sport of cycling should be forgotten.

"a landmark day for cycling"...................The open admission that almost a decade worth of cycling was completely bogus. Am I the only one that thinks this is about the worst thing that could happen for the sport. The UCI's opinion is that Lance should be forgotten, I think the sport of cycling should be forgotten.

I would go that far... Blame on the act of doping; but not necessarily the person(s) who doped. Or, maybe blame on the doper(s) but not the sport that person had participated in. My brother-in-law is a competitive cyclist. Not at the level of competing internationally but good enough to have won some prize money locally. He loves cycling and we bike quite a bit too. The fact is; I would hate to someday see the truth be revealed and someone would say; "the sport of running should be forgotten..." It's not running's fault; but people who had been involved with the scandal. Same with cycling. Maybe Armstrong or McQuaid should be criticized but not the sport of cycling.

Sure, it's weird to say that there's no winner in the biggest cycling competition in the world for a decade. But then again, if I remember it correctly, I don't think we have the gold medal winner in the women's 100m final from Sydney Olympics. We are (running is) not that far behind.

The fact is; this could be the best thing that had ever happened for the sport. Now we know.